Paint can splash protector



April 1952 R. T. WELTLICH 2,591,482

PAINT CAN SPLASH PROTECTOR Filed May 10, 1948 Aachen; I'l VeZiZicio.

Patented Apr. 1, 1952 7 Robert Wooster, Ohio, assignor of one-half Alfred E. Braun, Wooster, Ohio ApplicationMay lO, 1948, Serial No. 26,189

. 1 Claim. 1

Tliis" ihventionfielates to splash "protectors and has l articiilar reference to an" arrangement Jfdrt'i'se 'in"conjunction withpaint'cans to conrvethe paint and prevent the accumulation' of p mt'in the cover seal or'receiving groove which conventionarpai t cansare customarily pro- Itid'ed with an annular groove s'p'aced somewhat "on the cover "orlid, the cover 'flange being pried o'ut'from "frictionalengagement with the walls fofthefgro'ove when the can is'opened. During "the painting operation the manipulator invari f ablywipes the brush after dipping to remove "jxtfessj paint, thiswiping movement being habitiially directedacross themargin of theppening "in" thecan. QA" great deal of excess paint so removed "finds its'way'into the annular groove in whichth'e flange ofthe'cover is supposed to seat, thereby not only wasting paint but rendering it diflioult to reseatthe cover flange in the groove to forma 'tight seal.

An object of the invention is to eliminate the waste of excess paint removed from the brush during the wiping operation and at the same timej'prevent the accumulation of paint in the cover llanges'eating groove extending around the open ng intowhi'ch the'brush is dipped.

"Sti1I another 'objectof the invention is to pro-" vide a siiriple'andinexpensive device for'accomp shjing'the aboveobjctive, at the same'time so lconstrucjting it that it is adjustable to various fsizesiof "opening henoe' tocans of varyingcapacities.

Various other objects andmeritorious features of the invention will be apparent from the followingtdescription takeninconjunction with the d awings. wherein like numerals refer to like p rts throughout the several figures, and Where- Fig. 1 is an exploded view in perspective of an open-ended can and my improved splash protector;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the splash protector;

Fig. 3 is a section through 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section through 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention, and

Fig. 6 is a section through 66 of Fig. 5.

Referring now to Fig. 1, a paint can is broadly designated by the numeral II] and the splash protector by the numeral I2. As may be most clearly seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the conventional can comprises a cylindrical wall l4 the upper end of wardlyj'from the wall of the can at'its open "end. This groove is adapted to receive a flange which is joined by rolling or beading as indicated at I6 to an annular end piece l8. The roll or bead indicated at l6 forms a protrusion extending laterally outwardly from the upper end of the cylindrical wall of the can.

[The end piece i8 is formed to provide a groove having a bottom wall 20 andside walls 22 and 24,

the upper end of the inner sideyvall of the groovebeing rolled as indicated at2B to form a protrusion extending laterally inwardly from the upperend of the said innerwa11 of the groove. The conventional cover or lid for the paint can is provided with an annular depending flange adaptedto be frictionally seated in the groove between walls '22 and 24 forclosing theopen end of the can. v r One form of my improved splash protector l2 forac'complishing the'objectives heretofore outlined is illustrated in Figs. 1-4. It comprises an annular member which is preferably formed of resilientmaterial such as rubber, synthetic rubber,orplastic material. Preferably the annular memberis split as indicatedat 28 for reasons to be brought out more clearly hereinafter and, as clearly shownin Figs. 3 and 4 of thedrawings, is

j'shbstaritially trapezoidal incross' section withthe apex along the upper outer peripheral margin thereof.

"Iheannular member is grooved along its hottomface to provide jaws 30 and"32 for engagementgrespectively, with the wall of the can and theinnerwall 24 of the cover flange receiving groove. y

The walls Biland 32 of the groove in the annular'memberare recessed laterally as indicated at 34 and 35 adjacent the bottom of the groove to receive'the protrusions l6 and 26, thus forming ajpositive lock against removal of the protector after it'is positioned around the opening inthe end of the can. Inasmuch as the top margin of the cylindrical wall I4 and the annular protru- "sionlfi are apt to be slightly elevated with reference to protrusion 26 at the upper end of wall 24 of the cover flange receiving groove, primarily for the purpose of protecting the closed upper end of the can during handling and shipment, the bottom of the groove in annular member l2 may be tapered somewhat adjacent its radially inner end as indicated at 38. correspondingly the recesses 34 and 36 are offset from one another axially of the container or can for reception of the protrusions.

The surface of annular member i2 opposite the annular groove therein is tapered radially inwardly and downwardly as indicated at 40, thus also enhanced by the positive lock feature resulting from engagement of protrusions 46 and 26 within the recesses 34 and 36.

Preferably disposed opposite the split 28 in annular member i2 is a wiper blade 42 which extends radially inwardly from a portion of the circumference of the inside of annular member .12, forming a segment of relatively substantial area against which the brush may be wiped after dipping. To facilitate flow of excess paint during the wiping operation, the u per surface of wiper blade 42 slants downwardly and inwardly in a radial direction.

Referring now to a somewhat modified form of the invention illustrated particularly in Figs. and 6, the annular protector is formed from two semicircular members 44 and 46, each of which is in cross section the same as the embodiment described above. Associated with one of the semicircular members 44 is a wiper blade 48 similar to wiper blade 42. Pins 50 are fixedly positioned adjacent each end of member 44, the pins'extending laterally outwardly from the outer wall '5! of the groove. A strap-like extension 52 projects circumferentially beyond the outer wall of the groove in member 46, extending beyond each end of the grooved portion. Each straplike extension 52 is slotted to receive a laterally extending pin 50, thus joining adjustably together adjacent ends of the two semicircular members 44 and 46. Of course it will be apparent that it is immaterial whether the pins 58 are associated with a single member 44 at opposite ends thereof or at one end of each member, the other end of each member being provided with strap-like extensions 52 which are slotted to receive the cooperating pins.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that my improved splash protector is capable of ready adjustment to paint can openings of different diameter. By virtue of the split 28 in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1-4, the protector may be spread outwardly from a minimumsize position, wherein the adjacent ends of the annular member [2 meet at the split 28 to conform the annular groove in the member, to a great many different-sized openings with diameters greater than the minimum. This adjustable feature is likewise present in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 wherein it is only necessary to slide the pins 58 along the slots in which they are engaged in order to vary the diameter of the protector formed by the component members 44 and 46.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various other modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art and for that reason I wish to limit myself only within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is: V

In combination with a paint can or the like having an annular cover flange receiving groove extending around the can opening at one end of the can, a protrusion extending radially outwardly around the margin of the cylindrical wall of the can at its open end, and a protrusion extending radially inwardly around the margin of the inner wall of the flange receiving groove, said protrusion being offset axially of the can from the plane of said first mentioned protrusion, a protector comprising an annular split ring member of solid rubber substantially trapezoidal in cross section with the apex along the upper outer peripheral margin thereof, an annular groove in the bottom face of said member forming jaws engaging the wall of the can and the inner wall of the flange receiving groove, the side walls of the groove in said annular member being recessed laterallyin axially ofi'set planes corresponding to the planes of said'protrusi'ons into the body of the groove wall adjacent the bottom thereof to receive said protrusions, said member having an integral segmental portion extending inwardly beyond the inner wall of the groove and terminating in a substantially straight edge across a portion of its circumference to form a wiper blade, the surface of said member opposite the groove and the contiguous surface of said wiper blade being sloped radially inwardly.

ROBERT T. WELTLICH.

nEFERENoEs CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,450,632 Horton Apr. 3, 1923 1,632,972 Jeffers June 21, 1927 1,780,192 Jackson Nov. 4, 1930 1,866,457 Foley July 5, 1932 1,959,252 Colabrese May 15, 1934 1,984,170 Archbold Dec. 11, 1934 2,180,581 Eisenberg Nov. 21, 1939 2,268,241 Brueckel Dec. 30, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 100,871 Australia Apr. 23, 1937 278,429 Great Britain Oct. 5, 1927 617,702 Germany Aug; 24, 1935 

